With the proliferation of wireless communications, many wireless stations are in use in wireless networks. Such wireless stations can communicate over channels in infrastructure mode, ad hoc mode or other modes. In infrastructure mode, a wireless coordinator provides a coordination function by forwarding data and control messages for the wireless stations, enabling the wireless stations to establish connections with each other via communication links through the coordinator. A station can transmit an information request to the coordinator to obtain the information about other stations within a communication system such as a wireless network. Wireless stations can periodically receive control messages such as beacons from the coordinator, wherein the beacons indicate channel reservation and occupation information, allowing the stations to reserve a data channel based on such information.
In ad hoc mode communication, a coordinator is not required. A pair of wireless stations directly establish a connection without association to a coordinator. Establishing such a connection is achieved by signaling to reserve a data channel. Signaling includes communicating control messages, such as control messages, ad hoc beacons, etc. over a default control channel between the pair of stations.
Both in infrastructure mode and ad hoc mode communication, when connections between wireless stations need to be established it is desirable to utilize wireless data channel bandwidth efficiently.